One month to go! Our bloggers talk about training

This weekend marked a milestone for Admissions and Project Transform! It is now less than one month to go before the launch of Campus Solutions for Direct Admissions on Monday 23 October.

In the next few weeks, colleagues from across Admissions, and those in Student Services working with Admissions, will have their final training sessions. These will be the role-specific “In-Depth” sessions. Colleagues will learn how they will use the system day-to-day to complete the specific tasks they are responsible for.

To mark this milestone, we catch-up with some of our Admissions bloggers to hear how they found their previous training course – the Fundamentals course.

Scroll down to read all the posts or click on the links below to jump to a particular blogger’s post.

Chloe Brereton

Fundamentals training was the first session of official training for the Direct Admissions go-live I had. The session was run over a few weeks with relatively small groups.

For my session there was just five of us, which worked really well. It meant we could go at the pace that best suited the group. We had plenty of opportunity to ask questions.

The session was very focused. This was a huge improvement on the training I received as part of GoLive 2. We really were just given the fundamentals – the key training needed to enable us to carry out, what will become, the basic everyday tasks.

A refresher course

Having been through GoLive 2, I was already familiar with the key areas covered. This meant working through the tasks was more of a refresher exercise. This was helpful as it gave me a clearer understanding of how the systems differ in terms of the processes for Direct Admissions compared to UCAS admissions.

The most useful thing about this training session was that the trainer had clearly spent time developing a level of understanding of how Direct Admissions works. The training was delivered in context which instantly made it easier to follow. The whole session was very positive. I came away from it feeling excited about using the new system and the improvements it will bring to the Direct Admissions process.

Leanne Williamson

In order to be well prepared for using our new shiny system, we have had a series of training sessions organised for us to be able to use it correctly and more efficiently. The next instalment was named ‘Fundamentals’. The aim of this session was to learn and be able to use basic functions such as creating a query and adding a check list.

The trainer was nice enough, he had a laugh and a joke to try and lighten the mood. I think systems training is just one of those things that can never be made ‘fun’.

Process and repeat

We were given information on how to do a process and then had a task to repeat the process. Some of these tasks took a while as there were people in the training session of different abilities, working at different speeds. I could see some people in the group becoming frustrated that the group couldn’t move on until everyone had finished, but also those who were taking more time felt rushed and didn’t want to ask any more questions.

The session was thorough and I felt confident by the end of it that I could perform the tasks we had learnt. Some of the group felt the session was too long and that they were unable to concentrate on learning something new for that amount of time. Others said they preferred the longer sessions so they didn’t have to attend multiple smaller sessions.

Looking forward to the “In-Depth” training

I personally would have liked to learn how to use the system to do my job first. Then look at the additional fundamentals which I wouldn’t necessarily use in my day-to-day role. When I asked our trainer about the next steps, we were told we would be picking up the role-specific training in the next session. I’m looking forward to that course, it will be interesting to see how we will use the system as Admissions Officers and how it will enhance our roles.

Lucy North

I joined the Admissions department’s Applicant Support Team at the beginning of November last year. I’d just graduated from the University of Nottingham with an undergraduate degree. The Applicant Support Team’s main role is to process applications that come through. We also deal with any applicant enquiries through the multiple systems that we currently use.

I was very excited when I found out that a new system was being implemented. I came away from the overview session we all attended with a very positive outlook on the training sessions that were going to begin.

Two down…

I have now attended two training sessions and the new system is living up to expectations! The most recent session focused on fundamentals. We began to gain an insight into how the system will work within our job role.

A large part of the Applicant Support Team’s role is to process various documents, logging them with the application. In the current system we use, this can be unnecessarily time-consuming. We have to use multiple systems to complete one small task.

Having had the chance to access the Campus Solutions system, it seems a much quicker and efficient process, where all the applicant’s information is in one place and one system. Rather than using our emails to carry out all our communication, we can send out notifications and correspondence within the applicant’s own portal. That will make things much easier to manage.

Work in progress

It was clear that some aspects of the system were still being ironed out, however this is understandable when such a large system is being created. It’s nice to feel like you can make suggestions and give feedback from your point of view.

I am really looking forward to the next training session which will focus on more role-based training. This will put our first two training sessions into more detailed practice. We will be able to focus on the processes and further our understanding of the system when carrying out our tasks.

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About this blog

Project Transform is a global programme which will enhance the quality of our students’ experience from their first contact with the University, throughout their time here and to Graduation and beyond. This blog will provide regular updates from Project Transform.